Everybody can be great… because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.
~Martin Luther King, Jr.
Recently, I had the pleasure of spending the day with two of my favorite people in the world, a beautiful six-year-old and her adorable 4-year-old brother and their parents. I love getting to spend time with these kids and playing with them. They bring me such joy. Whether it be a rousing game of monkey in the middle, telling each other knock-knock jokes and tooting jokes (they call passing gas “tooting”), we always have a blast. They are my best buddies!
At one point, we were playing outside on the deck. The parents didn't want the kids in the house at this point. They wanted them outside to burn off some energy. However, the little guy kept trying to go inside the house. I told him, "You're supposed to play out here with me. Don't go in the house. "
A few minutes later, Adessa got up and walked off to the house, and the little boy ran after her like a shot. I didn't think anything of it because he was with Adessa. A few minutes later, he came running up to me with a big smile on his face and proudly proclaimed to me, "Hey Jamie, you're not the boss. Adessa's the boss."
Well, his older sister heard what he said and thought it was so funny, so for the next hour, I had two little voices repeating over and over, "Jamie's not the boss; Adessa's the boss."
Apparently, this little guy had run up to Adessa to tell her she wasn't allowed in the house either. Adessa asked why she couldn't go in, and he replied, "Jamie said we're not allowed in the house." Adessa replied, "Well, Jamie is not my boss." Thus, the chorus of "Jamie's not the boss, Adessa's the boss" began.
It was so funny, but unfortunately, too often, people think being "the boss" means they get to be in charge, telling others what to do, and they have to listen.
Matthew 20:26-28 tells us the opposite when Jesus says, "Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."( NIV)
The backdrop for this Scripture is interesting. Jesus had just finished teaching His disciples, including telling them about His death (which they did not want to hear), when the mother of James and John asked Him a favor. And it was a doozy!
Believe it or not, she asked if her sons could sit at Jesus' right and left hand when they came into His kingdom. Of course, the other disciples heard about this request and were ticked off. Jesus knew that, once again, His disciples needed another lesson on what it meant to be a leader in God's kingdom.
The disciples struggled with this teaching because they thought, as Jesus's right-hand men, they deserved to have the least of these serving them. This childish attitude came from a lifetime of the Jewish elite pushing them down and lording over them. Now they were the big wigs, Jesus chosen men, and they were all up for being the top dog others served.
However, Jesus never let them get away with it. Instead, He taught them what serving means and how to develop a servant's heart. He daily demonstrated this fact to them in how He interacted with them and the people. He even demonstrated servanthood when He washed their feet.
Over and over again, Jesus tried to teach them this lesson: In God's kingdom, leadership means being the first in line to serve.
The same lesson applies today: Our job as men of God is to serve.
How do we do that?
The answer is quite simple.
We follow Jesus's example because Jesus's life was the model of a man Who served.
Look at Philippians 2:3-8:
Don't be selfish; don't try to impress others.
Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.
Don't look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.
You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form,
he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on a cross. (NLT)
Jesus left the glory of heaven and came to earth to serve others. He put other people's needs above His needs. Jesus constantly had thousands of people coming to Him and needing His help and assistance. They had urgent needs and needed His miraculous power to help them. Jesus never turned them away.
Even when He was tired or hungry, He put their needs and issues above His needs.
Jesus even put the disciple's needs above His own.
Of course, Jesus' greatest act of servanthood was when He laid down His life on the cross.
As leaders, men are called to follow Jesus' example and exhibit servant leadership.
Whether it be serving our wives, children, communities, or churches, the question should never be, "How can others serve me?" but rather, "What can I do to serve you?"
There's a quote from Martin Luther King that sums this attitude up perfectly:
"Everybody can be great…because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love."
Do you want to be an unbreakable leader in your family, community, job, or church?
Find a way to serve.
Study how Jesus served others and follow His example.
Don't ask what others can do for you, but ask how you can serve them.
Unbreakable servanthood—it's what Jesus lived and Who He called us to be.
Bibliography:
1. "Best Martin Luther King Jr Quotes About Service to Others." The Narratologist, www.thenarratologist.com/best-martin-luther-king-jr-quotes-about-service-to-others/. Accessed 13 Aug. 2024.
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